Why Buy?

Austin, Texas is a great place to live! And its growing fast, there are lots of new neighborhoods coming up all around town and new types non-traditional housing like condos and duplexes so there are many options for you to choose from. But let's talk about the financial and personal benefits of buying a house.

Financial Benefits

Homeownership allows you to increase your long term wealth drastically more than renting does. Here are a few reason why:

Taxes: When you buy a house, you are able to receive tax benefits that renters can not. You get to deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage, your property taxes and some other costs involved in buying a home. This saves you money.

Equity: When you buy a house, you build equity. Equity is the current market value of your home minus your mortgage. Home equity can increase over time when the property value increases or the loan balance is paid down. Owning your home allows you to dramatically increase your net worth due to your home’s equity from selling your home years down the line. Money paid in rent is money that you will never see again, but mortgage payment allow you to build equity, it's like having a built in savings plan. As a Realtor, one of the best things I get to experience is when my client is “right-sizing” their home for their current lifestyle is when they have enough equity in their home, that they can sell their home and go buy the right-size home in cash - that’s so awesome! I see that more and more in the Austin area because property value appreciates at a quick rate.

Predictability: When you buy a house, your fixed-rate mortgage payments don’t rise over the years. When you rent, your rent usually goes up every time you renew your lease. When you own your housing costs may actually decline as you own the home longer. Property taxes and insurance costs will likely increase.

Personal Benefits

There are countless personal benefits to owning your own home and for everyone there are different personal reasons. You may want to be close to family or close to work or you want to be in community with people. Here are a few personal benefits that come with buying a home:

Community: When you buy a house, it allows you to establish roots in a community - you become part of a community. You’re more likely to get involved in what's going on in your community because you’re personally invested.

Freedom: When you buy a house, the home is yours so you are free to make it your own style. You can paint it, remodel it, upgrade how you’d like. You can make it fit your lifestyle and add your personal touches throughout and you can add improvements that will give you return on your investment in the long run. You are free to become a Home Depot weekend warrior.

Stability: When you buy a house, living in one neighborhood for several years allows you and your family time to build long-lasting relationships within the community. Neighbors become like family, you celebrate together, kids go to school together, they play sports together. Your kids and your neighbors kids grow up together. I’m still friends with the neighbors I grew up with. It offers your kids the benefit of educational and social continuity.